


At Long Last

by SJHarrison



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 12:02:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8623804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SJHarrison/pseuds/SJHarrison
Summary: Neji may have always loved Hinata, but she's never been the most observant. It takes her a lot to see it, but after being ignored for the last time, she finally sees it.





	1. A Preposition

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first NejiHina fic I've written in a long time. I'm going to try to keep on top of this, but I might end up shuffling this one under the rug in favour of the other fics I'm writing. This one has been floating around on other sites for a while, so I thought I would throw it here where I write more often.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh smells of the mid summer’s day. He could feel the warm sun glistening off of his skin as he looked down the street to see her there as she always was, watching him.  
‘How could she always watch him? What did he have that I don’t have? I know he’s my friend, but still, I notice her. You don’t even know what you have because you’re too blind to see it,’ He thought.  
This was what he did most days, he liked to watch over her and keep her safe. After all he had the Byakugan and could spy on her from great distances, making sure no one harmed her in any way.

He jumped down from the roof and walked down the street, hands in his pocket and usual apparent frown on his face. He kept staring at her beautiful violet hair cascading down her back as he approached. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, imagining what a kiss from her would feel like, when he was abruptly greeted with a loud obnoxious voice.  
“Neji! Why are you walking with your eyes closed?”  
He opened his eyes to me face to face with the loudmouthed blond himself.  
“Hello, Naruto. There’s no reason, I just closed my eyes for a second, that is all,” Neji replied with his usual blank condescension.  
He looked around and was greeted by the faces of many of his comrades. There was Lee, Kiba, Shino and even Sakura. None of them noticed Hinata hiding around the corner, spying on Naruto as usual.  
He kept proceeding down the street as he had before, trying to reach Hinata. Everyone stared as he kept walking, wondering why he had kept going without saying a word.  
He walked up to Hinata, quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder as she turned to greet him. He stared into her beautiful lilac eyes for a moment, not being able to find his words. He quietly swallowed and attempted to speak.  
“Hinata, would you like to come for a walk through the park with me?” He asked. He was hoping she accepted, he always wanted to spend time with her. This way, maybe she would start thinking of him the way she thought of Naruto.  
“Uh, sure Neji, that sounds great,” She said in her usual timid voice.  
He gave her a quick smile as he started walking toward the park in the direction they were already facing. He kept looking to his right side at Hinata as she walked with him. He couldn’t help but imagine how it would feel for her to be his. He wanted to feel her soft skin beneath his fingers, her lips pressed against his and her arms wrapped around him. There were so many things he wanted, but he knew there was no way she felt the same as he did. It was obvious she loved Naruto, even though Neji was doing everything in his power to try and change that.


	2. A Day With Her

Neji was glad that he had managed to separate Hinata from Naruto. Now he had all this time alone with her, he always had fun when they were alone together. He looked over to her once they entered the park to notice the smile on her face as they walked through the green park. He started to look around at the green scenery when he felt a tug at his sleeve.   
“Neji, let’s go look at the flowers, c’mon,” Hinata said with an excited tone.   
She took his hand and pulled him toward the flower bed off to the side rather quickly. He didn’t have a chance to say anything in response as she pulled him, not that he would, they both knew he would go see the flowers with Hinata. He knelt down with her as he saw her face spread into a wide smile while she leaned down to smell the flowers.   
“Aren’t they beautiful, Neji?” She asked as she turned to look back at him again.   
He nodded in response. “Yes, Hinata, they are beautiful.”  
Truth be told, Neji’s eyes weren’t on the flowers, but the girl with the wide smile and excited tone smelling and admiring them. He couldn’t believe how happy she made him when she had barely said a word to him the whole time. He couldn’t stop smiling the whole time they were together; it was just another thing that made him love her. 

Neji had long since fallen in love with Hinata. He could remember all the way back to the first time they met when they were children. He remembers the way she was shy and afraid at first, but eventually warmed up to the idea of Neji being both her cousin and her friend. They would spend hours running and laughing in the field together, playing games and having fun just the two of them. It was then that she started referring to him as her brother, whether it was true or not. He missed those times so much, the times when she saw no one else but him. These were the times that made him fall in love with her, made him want to be with her, to marry her. 

He came back his senses when he was being shaken back to his senses.   
“Neji, it’s getting dark, maybe we should go back,” Hinata said as he was coming back to his senses.   
“You’re right, how about we go get something to eat and then go home?” Neji answered.   
“Sure Neji, let’s go eat,” she replied.   
Neji started walking out of the park with Hinata, toward the lights of the street. As he got to the street he saw the lights of Ichiraku ramen shop.   
“How does ramen sound, Hinata?” Neji asked.  
She nodded in response without saying a word, instead offering a smile as an answer.   
He walked in to the shop with Hinata and sat down to order. He looked over to Hinata offering her a smile before he started to talk.   
“Thank you for coming with me today, Hinata, I had a good time,” he said.   
“O-oh, you’re welcome, Neji. I had fun too today,” she responded.  
Neji smiled in response as he looked over to Teuchi, the shop owner, and ordered his ramen. Hinata ordered quickly after and they sat in relative silence for a little while. Right when Neji turned to Hinata again to say something a familiar loud-mouthed blond walked up to Ichiraku and sat next to her.   
“Hey you guys, what are you doing here? I never see you here,” Naruto said in his usual loud fashion.   
“H-Hello, N-Naruto. We were just getting some thing to eat, right Neji?” Hinata responded, her voice riddled with timid shyness that always appeared around Naruto.   
Neji nodded in response, not using any words to answer her question.   
The ramen they ordered had arrived and Naruto continued to obliviously talk to Hinata, totally unaware of her feelings as she slowly ate her ramen. Neji quickly ate his ramen stood up and paid Teuchi for both his and Hinata’s ramen before going to take off. He put a hand on Hinata’s shoulder before he left.   
“Goodbye, Hinata, I’ll see you later,” he said before going to head out.   
Hinata quickly stood up and wrapped her arms around Neji, pulling him into a tight hug.   
“Thank you for taking me to the park and for the ramen, Neji,” she said as she let go of him.   
“You’re very welcome, Hinata, I’ll see you at home,” he responded.   
With that he left and headed home to get some rest, she wanted to be with Naruto anyway. It filled his heart with sadness to leave like this, but he wanted her to be happy, even if it was with someone else. He tucked his hands in his pockets and walked back to the compound, she was safe with Naruto after all.


	3. Love

It was around midnight, it was usually too late for him to be up, but Neji was just making tea to help him sleep. It was rather unusual for him to not be able to sleep; maybe it was the way he left Hinata with Naruto without wanting to. Either way Neji made his tea, drank it and started to head off to bed. 

As he was walking down the hallway he heard some sounds coming from what seemed like Hinata’s bedroom. He decided to go see what they were; he thought he was the only one awake anyway. As he approached her room it became evident that it was coming from Hinata’s bedroom and she was in fact crying.   
He knocked quietly on the door before sliding it open slowly and walking in.   
“Hinata, are you alright? What’s wrong?” Neji asked as he slowly approached her bed.   
Hinata jumped as she didn’t hear him come in. “O-oh, Neji!” She managed to squeak out through her tears. “I-I didn’t hear you come in.”

Hinata was sitting on the side of her bed, her head in her ands and her elbows resting on her knees. She was sobbing enough that there were obvious water marks all over her pants and sleeves. When she looked up her face had tears streaming down the sides and she could barely look Neji in the eyes. Just seeing her like this made Neji incredibly sad. He wanted to help her in anyway he could, not even because he loved her, but because she was his family and he cared for her. 

Neji walked up to her bed and sat gently beside her. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her towards himself. She rested her face in his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. Neji couldn’t bear to see her like this; it was tearing him apart inside.   
“Hinata, what’s wrong?” Neji asked again, hoping this time she would tell him her problem.   
Hinata looked up a little, still hiding her face in his shoulder as she spoke. “He doesn’t even notice me, Neji.” She started. “He only ever sees me as a friend and never sees that I could make him just as happy as she could.”   
It didn’t take long for Neji to realize she was talking about Naruto and how oblivious he is to her feelings. “Well, Hinata, maybe Naruto isn’t the right one for you then. He can’t see how great you really are and how happy you would make anyone. You are strong, brave and just overall amazing and you will make someone happy one day, I know it,” He said, stopping himself before he confessed too many of his feelings for her. He spoke nothing but the truth, though; these were all things he thought about her. He didn’t know how Naruto couldn’t see her when she’d this great.  
“Neji, I don’t think I’m as strong as you think,” She complained. “You’re way stronger than I am.”   
“Hinata, strength isn’t measured by how much you can lift or how good you are as a shinobi,” He started. “Hinata, you are strong because you love unconditionally no matter what. You don’t hesitate when it comes to protecting someone that you love. Your kind and gentle nature is also a way of being strong, you never let the hardships of this world get you down and you always stay kind and gentle and find things to be happy about. So, in many ways, you are stronger than I am, Hinata.”  
Hinata heard what he had to say, but it didn’t really make her feel much better. She wanted to know how it felt to be loved the way she thought she loved Naruto. “Neji, do you think anyone will ever love me?” She asked.   
The question surprised Neji. He knew the answer of course; he loved her, but was now really the time to tell her that? “Hinata, I know for a fact that people already love you.” He started to confess, hoping she wouldn’t catch on to him. “You just need to open your eyes a little more to see that you are already loved.”   
Hinata looked up from Neji’s shoulder to see how his face was looking away from her. Was it him who loved her? He always seemed to be around when she was sad and always protected her when she needed it.   
Her eyes widened as she realized it was Neji who loved her. How could she have been so blind? She spent all this time trying to get Naruto to notice her that she never noticed how Neji loved her. She placed a hand on his chest as she wiped the tears from her eyes with the other hand. “Neji...” Was the only word out of her mouth.   
Neji looked over as he felt her hand on his chest, she was no longer crying and he could see her looking up into his eyes. He didn’t know what was going through her mind in this moment, the only thing he knew for sure was that he loved her so much and at least he had helped her stop crying.   
Hinata could see clearly now. She saw Neji as the man he was and one that loved her. It was all so apparent to her now, ever since they were kids he had tried to protect her and always wanted to spend time with her. They would spend hours together in the park and always laugh and smile. Now that she thought about it, it was one of the only times you could guarantee Neji was smiling.   
In this moment, Hinata finally decided to take a risk for one of the first times in her life. She took the hand that was wiping her tears and placed it on the side of Neji’s face as she leaned in and kissed him. In this moment she wasn’t thinking of the consequences just about how she had been so oblivious to what was right in front of her.   
Neji was shocked; he didn’t know this was happening at all. He had loved Hinata so much for so long, but he didn’t plan on kissing her now. Once her lips were gently pressed against his he was sure that this felt right, like it was meant to be. He kissed her back for what seemed like a longer moment than it was.   
Hinata continued to kiss him for a couple minutes before pulling away to look him in the eyes again. “Neji, I’m so sorry I didn’t notice you for all these years. You’ve loved me for so long and I was always too blind to see it, but I know now that I love you too,” she said, she was surer of this than anything else in her life.


	4. Their First Night

Neji looked her in the eyes and placed a hand over hers that was resting on his cheek. “Hinata, I do love you. I’ve loved you ever since we were kids,” He said with a large smile stretching across his face as he spoke. He couldn’t believe that she loved him too. He was at a loss for words at this point; he didn’t know what to say next. He soon felt her thumb slowly caressing his cheek and nothing in his life had felt as gentle and sweet. Her touch on his skin was heavenly and he wanted it to last forever.   
“Neji, thank you for coming here tonight. I’m really glad you came to my room, I learned who is really always there for me and who I truly love,” Hinata confessed. She felt like she had finally found her other half, the one who truly saw her for who she was.   
Neji really didn’t know what to say to this. He didn’t think Hinata felt anywhere near the same, let alone did she love him. He took a deep breath to try and speak again.  
“Hinata…” That was the only word out of his mouth. The normally confident and headstrong Hyuga prodigy was at a loss for words. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, resting his head on her shoulder as he held her tight.   
Hinata was shocked at the sudden affection Neji was showing her. Neji was always a quiet but confident person; he didn’t show affection unless he really had to. She quickly held him back, wrapping her arms tightly around him too. She was really glad that he was here; she never wanted him to leave. She didn’t know how she was going to tell people that she was in love with Neji, she just knew that this was right and she had no intention of stopping.   
Neji slowly lifted his head and backed away from her to look her in the eyes.   
“Hinata, I don’t want to leave. Can I stay here with you tonight? I really just want to be by your side,” he stammered out through all his emotions.   
“I-I would love it, Neji. I want you to stay here with me tonight,” She responded as she nodded with a large smile.   
Neji’s mouth curled into a large smile as his happiness took over. He wrapped his arms around her into another tight hug as he pushed her into the bed, lying on top of her for a moment. He pushed himself up and rolled over to her side. He turned to his side and saw her turn to look back at him in happiness.   
“I love you so much, Hinata,” Neji admitted.  
“I love you too, Neji,” She retorted.  
He leaned in and pressed his lips gently to hers. She casually wrapped her arms around his neck as she accepted the kiss and wanted to pull him closer. His hand was soon caressing her cheek as they kissed, his fingers gently entangled in her hair.   
Hinata gently pushed against his chest after a few minutes, parting the two of them.  
“Neji, it’s late and we should sleep. How about we continue this in the morning?” She proposed, a tired yawn sneaking out seconds later.   
Neji nodded in response. “Alright, let’s sleep. I definitely will continue this in the morning,” He retorted.   
Hinata grabbed his clothes and pulled him to sit up with her. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before undoing the lone button on near the top of his outfit, starting to push aside the fabric revealing his toned chest and incredibly light skin.   
“Uh…Hinata, What are you doing?” He questioned as she started removing the clothing.   
“Well, Neji, you can’t sleep in your clothes,” She giggled as she continued. “We have to make sure you don’t get too hot, I’m sure you don’t sleep in your full clothes in your room. Plus, these clothes kind of smell from your training.”   
Neji smiled and chuckled under his breath as he let her pull them to his waist. He pulled his clothes from there on his own as she pulled off her sweater and pants and pushed him down to the bed. She curled up with him, pulling his arm around her as she burrowed her head in his chest.   
“Goodnight, Neji, I love you.” Hinata said as she was already falling asleep.  
“Goodnight, Hinata, I love you too,” He replied as he tightened his grip around her and leaned his head toward her.   
In a matter of a few minutes they both fell asleep in each other’s arms. They were both happy and content in the company of each other’s presence.


	5. The Next Morning

Hinata awoke first, still held in Neji’s grasp. She moved his hand slightly as she placed a hand on his bare chest to help her slide up toward his head. She gently placed a kiss on his cheek to try and wake him up. She watched as he moved a little but didn’t fully wake up. She placed several more on his cheek until she watched his eyes open, finally.   
“Good morning, Neji. How did you sleep?” She asked before he even had a chance to notice what was going on.   
He groaned for a minute as he leaned his head forward to see the lilac eyes of Hinata looking lovingly back at him. “Oh, good morning, Hinata. I slept well. Did you sleep well too?” He said as he wiped his eyes.  
She nodded in response before smiling back at him. She pecked his lips quickly as she lied down; resting her head on his shoulder. She looked up into his eyes as she lied with him.   
“Neji, I don’t want you to leave. I want to stay with you forever,” Hinata said looking into his eyes.  
“Hinata, I won’t leave you for as long as I live. You are the most important thing to me and I will always be here to protect you. Would you please be with me? I promise to do my best to make you happy,” he responded. He wanted to stay with her for the rest of his life and this was the first step to getting that.  
Hinata watched intently as he asked her to be with him, gentle tears welling up as she heard what he had to say. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “Yes! A million times yes!” She screamed as she tightly held him.   
Neji was stunned by the sudden affection from her but smiled and hugged her back as a large smile appeared on his face. “I love you, Hinata,” he whispered into her ear as she held tightly on to him.   
She pulled back from the hug and looked into his identical lavender eyes. “I love you too, Neji,” she responded. She leaned in and kissed his lips for a few seconds before pulling away to look him in the eyes again. “It’s out day off, how about we spend it together? It’ll be just the two of us,” she proposed as she shifted her feet to the side of the bed.   
His smile returned after the kiss when he heard her proposal. “There’s no where I’d rather be than with you,” he tenderly said as he shuffled out of the covers. He stood up and put his clothes back on as she did the same. He walked over as he did the lone button back up and took her hand, pulling her up to her feet. “Maybe we should swing by my room so I can change first, you did mention how smelly these clothes were getting,” he jokes as she stood up.  
“I think you’re right, Neji,” she retorted as stood and intertwined her fingers with his.   
He led the way out of her room and down the hall. It was only a short walk to his room from hers. They surprisingly didn’t encounter any clan members on their way to his room. It was lucky for them; they didn’t know how to explain to them that they were now dating. They approached Neji’s bedroom rather quickly and Hinata gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before waiting in the hallway.   
He went in and quickly changed into another set of clothes that looked almost identical to the ones he was already wearing. He neatly discarded the dirty ones into a dirty clothes hamper as he left the room and turned to Hinata who was waiting beside his door. “How do I smell now?” He asked, hoping the sweaty smell of his training was gone.   
“You smell heavenly, Neji, lets go,” she answered after a quick sniff. She quickly took his hand and walked toward the exit of the clan house. They approached the door but Hinata quickly stopped and pulled Neji to a halt as well right before they reached the door.   
“What’s wrong, Hinata,” Neji asked. He couldn’t figure out what had suddenly spooked Hinata.   
“I-It’s just…What will they all think of us? The clan doesn’t know about us and I don’t know how well they’ll take the news,” she said, her voice saturated with sudden fear and shyness.   
“Hinata, I know that you’re scared, but whatever happens I’ll be right by your side holding your hand. I’ll protect you no matter what happens, no matter who I have to oppose,” He said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as she spoke.   
She nodded back after he finished speaking. “You’re right, Neji. I’m not alone anymore and with you by my side, we can handle anything, together,” she replied, the fear seemingly gone.   
He smiled and placed a hand on the door, sliding it open. The mid day sun peaked in as the view of outside came into sight and they started to walk out into the village. Whatever they had to face, they would do it together.


End file.
